Homemade Green Enchilada Sauce

If you ever have the chance to make something homemade as a substitute for canned/jarred/premade ingredients, it is ALWAYS the best option! The only exception I can think of is Crescent Rolls. I’ve never had homemade bread as good as crescent rolls…there is some sort of strange black magic within those little cans that make the most delicious, buttery, and flaky bread that exists on this planet.

But…for the most part, homemade = better…can we all agree on that with a few exceptions here and there?? Enchilada sauce is definitely not an exception. Homemade enchilada sauce is super yummy – way better than the canned versions. And it’s actually super easy to make. I was surprised!

AND – the coolest part?? This recipe totally doubles as salsa verde. Dip some tortilla chips in this and bask in tangy, flavorful bliss. This recipe makes three cups of sauce…so use half of it for enchiladas and save the other half for salsa – it’s a two in one recipe! And then you can feel productive and awesome.

For the most part, green enchilada sauce is made out of tomatillos, which are these little green tomato looking things with a husk on the outside. When you peel the husk off, there is a really sticky film on the tomatillo that you have to wash off. Don’t worry – the husk comes off really easily, and film washes off really easily!

Then you just slice them in half and throw them in a food processor with some onion, garlic, cilantro, a poblano pepper, and a little veggie stock. Blend it up, add it to a sauce pan, and let it simmer for about thirty minutes! And that’s all there is to it. Homemade enchilada sauce.

It’s tangy, bright, flavorful, and is delicious with enchiladas OR tortilla chips. You can add it to your list of homemade goodies – homemade stuff is so satisfying to make. It is extra special to eat a meal when you know you scratch-made part of it all by yourself.

Like lasagna. On really super special occasions when I am feeling really super non-lazy, I will make lasagna from scratch. Scratch-scratch, not just kind of scratch. Homemade pasta, homemade sauce, and homemade ricotta (which is actually REALLY easy). It is seriously the most mouthwatering thing in the world.

But you have to be really un-lazy, because daaaaaang it’s a process. A delicious one, though 😍. For now you can just stick with super easy homemade enchilada sauce, if you want 😀!

Can I get super real and serious with you for a few minutes? I was just about to go on a humorous rant about my silly struggle the last three weeks: all my super comfy clothes that I usually wear have been sooo tight on my preggers belly and it has been a strug-fest in the evening as I try and get comfy. And then I was going to talk about how I ordered three pairs of stretchy maternity workout pants from Old Navy with a gift card, and they go all the way over the top of my belly, and they are amazing. And I am finally able to get comfy again at night. I was like three paragraphs into this story, and I just erased the whole thing.

I was sitting here thinking…who cares about being uncomfortable at night because all my leggings and workout pants were digging into my ever-growing belly? Seriously…who in the world cares when there are women all over the place who either can’t get pregnant or have lost their babies.

I don’t know if you follow the blog, Pinch of Yum, but she lost her baby boy, Afton, recently, soon after going in for her 22 week doctor’s appointment, which just so happens to be the week I’m in right now. She gave birth to him and then held him in her arms as he took his last breaths. You know what she probably wishes with every single tiny cell of her being right now? That she could complain about her pants being too tight and her inability to get comfortable at night.

When Seth and I lost our baby in September, you know what I would have given everything for? To be complaining about the discomforts of being pregnant while I am right smack dab in the middle of a healthy pregnancy. Gosh, I would have died for that.

You know what I didn’t know about pregnancy before I actually got pregnant? It’s hard. It’s actually really hard. I pictured it being this perfectly blissful, glowing 9 months, when in reality it’s a TON of heartburn, discomfort, insane hormones that make your mood rise and plummet, anxiety that comes with the unknown, and fatigue. And maybe some women really do have these amazing, perfect pregnancies, but not that’s just not me.

But the thing is, sometimes it makes me sick to my stomach to even think about complaining about these different things, these tiny things, when women like Lindsay over at Pinch of Yum would give ANYTHING to be struggling with things that like – things that don’t matter at all. When I think about how desperate I would have been for those issues as Seth and I were overcoming the loss of our child in September. When I think about the women who try for years and years and years and can’t get pregnant. It makes my heart ache to complain about the issues that come with a healthy pregnancy when I think of those women and when I think of our own loss several months ago.

Being pregnant is challenging, and it’s one of the scariest things I’ve ever experienced – feeling like I have no idea how to be a parent or raise this little one that’s totally dependent on me. Feeling like I’m about to step into the abyss of this huge and new area of my life that Seth and I have never come near before. I know it will be absolutely amazing, but I also know how big and unknown and challenging it will be. But something I need to remind myself of, and something that other preggo mama’s out there can think about if they’re having a tough pregnancy – what would some women give to be complaining about what you’re complaining about right now?

We just got super real, and now I will go back to talking about enchilada sauce (😀), but I just wasn’t feelin’ my goofy pregnancy rant today, and I hate being artificial on here!

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Nutrition info is for 1/2 cup of sauce.

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!

In the mood for more yummy Mexican recipes? Check these out:

Cheesy Mexican Rice Casserole

One Pot Mexican Pasta Skillet

Grilled Mexican Street Corn